PDF waivers let you turn the documents you already use — liability waivers, consent forms, rental agreements — into signable documents your customers complete online before their experience. You upload your existing PDF, drop in the fields you want filled (names, dates, signatures), and Captainbook collects a legally stored, signed copy from every customer who books.
With PDF waivers you can:
Use your own document exactly as designed — your layout, your wording, your branding
Place dynamic fields anywhere on the page, automatically filled with booking and customer details
Collect signatures online, with no app to install and no interruption to your booking flow
Store every signed copy securely, downloadable at any time
Require one signature per booking, or one from every guest
How it works
There are three pieces to the PDF waiver system, and you’ll find them all under Documents in your dashboard:
PDF Templates — the reusable documents you upload and prepare once.
Documents — the waivers attached to a specific experience, ready for customers to sign.
Agreements — the signed copies your customers have completed.
A typical setup is: upload a template once, attach it to one or more experiences, and from then on every customer who books is asked to sign before they arrive.
Getting started
Step 1: Upload a PDF template
Go to Documents → PDF Templates and click Upload PDF Template. Choose the PDF you already use and the editor will open with your document displayed.
CAUTION: Your PDF must be saved as version 1.4 or older. Most modern editors (Word, Pages, Google Docs, Acrobat) default to PDF 1.5 or newer, which the signer cannot read. If your file is rejected on upload, re-export it at compatibility level 1.4 — in Acrobat, choose Save As Other → Optimized PDF → Compatibility: Acrobat 5.0 (PDF 1.4); on macOS Preview, File → Export and apply the Reduce File Size Quartz filter. Then upload again.
Step 2: Place your fields
In the editor, drag fields onto the page wherever you want information to appear. There are two kinds:
Text fields — filled automatically when the customer signs (their name, the booking date, their answer to a question, and so on).
Signature fields — where the customer draws their signature. Mark a field as a signature field anywhere a signature is required.
For each text field, pick the variable it should display from the list. Variables are written in curly braces, for example {customer.name} or {customer.email}. When the document is signed, Captainbook replaces each variable with the real value.
Note: If you open the editor from an experience’s page, the variable list also includes that experience’s own questions — so you can place a customer’s answers (like a phone number or emergency contact) directly onto the waiver.
For experiences where each guest answers their own questions, guest answers are offered as numbered variables— {full-name.1}, {full-name.2}, and so on — so you can lay out a field for each guest on the page.
Step 3: Choose the document scope
Every waiver is one of two types:
One document per booking — a single signature covers the whole booking. Best for a household renting one kayak.
One document per guest — every guest in the booking signs their own copy. Best for a group activity where each person must consent individually.
Save your template when you’re done. It’s now in your library, ready to attach to your experiences.
Attaching a waiver to an experience
Open the experience you want to add a waiver to and find the Documents section. Click Create document, then choose:
Use a PDF Template — attach one of the templates already in your library.
Create a PDF Document — upload a fresh PDF and prepare it specifically for this experience.
Once attached, the waiver appears in your Documents tab and is automatically presented to every customer who books that experience.
Note: You can attach the same template to as many experiences as you like. Preparing it once and reusing it keeps your waivers consistent.
How customers sign
Customers never leave their booking to sign. After booking, they’re shown each required waiver in turn:
They click Read & sign to open the document.
The PDF is displayed with all the text fields already filled in from their booking.
Each signature field is marked Sign here — clicking it opens a signature pad.
The customer draws their signature, which appears on the document so they can see exactly what they’re signing.
They confirm their full name, agree to use an electronic signature, and submit.
For guest-level waivers, each guest is prompted to sign their own copy. If other guests need to sign, the customer can share the signing link with them.
Managing signed documents
Every completed waiver lands in Documents → Agreements. For each signed copy you can see:
The signatory’s name
The booking it belongs to
The IP address and location captured at signing
The date and time it was signed
Use Showing columns to choose which details are visible, and the search box to find a specific agreement. To retrieve a signed copy, open the row’s ⋮ menu and click Download — you’ll get the final PDF, complete with the filled fields and the customer’s signature.
Note: Signed documents are stored securely and encrypted. A waiver that already has signatures can’t be deleted, so your records stay intact.
Using waivers with Workflows
PDF waivers work hand in hand with Workflows. The Documents Signed Complete trigger fires once every required document for a booking has been signed — whether the booking has one waiver or several. Use it to send a confirmation, notify a guide, or kick off any automation you like the moment a customer is fully signed off. See All you need to know about workflows to build one.
Tips and troubleshooting
“This PDF can’t be read” on upload. Your file is newer than PDF 1.4. Re-export it at compatibility level 1.4 (see the CAUTION above) and try again.
A field shows the variable name instead of a value (for example
{full-name.1}appears literally). The variable doesn’t match anything in that booking — check the spelling against the list in the editor, and make sure the experience actually asks that question.Replacing a template’s PDF clears its fields. When you upload a new file, the field positions reset, since they no longer match the new layout. Place your fields again after replacing the PDF.
A customer can’t see their waiver. Confirm the document is attached to the experience they booked, and that they’re on the signing step of their booking flow.
Remember: prepare your template once, attach it wherever you need it, and let Captainbook handle the rest — every customer signed, every copy stored, no paperwork. Need a field or variable you don’t see? Contact us!
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